Don't Mess With Mother Nature!

Happy Earth Day.

What are you doing these days to help our ailing planet on her road to wellness?  Remember, we only have one planet and we are all in this together.  It took all of us to make her sick and it will take all of us to make her well.

Money, or the lack thereof is no excuse.  Frugality and environmentally wise decisions overlap by 90%.  No one is asking for 100% here.  You are just asked to try.

What are some of the things we do here on the boat?

• We purchase most of the non consumables we need from charity shops and they are always the first place we look for things we need. Even the yarn I crochet with is from a charity shop.
• Although every dish used needs to be hand washed we have never used disposables here on the boat.  I have the dishpan hands to prove it. :-)
• Our laundry detergent,cleaning products and washing up liquid are homemade.  The ingredients are kinder to the environment, we have less packaging to dispose of, and it lessens our carbon footprint. It also lessens our personal exposure to toxic chemicals.
• We use cloth napkins in place of disposable paper napkins.
•  We try to buy locally produced foods and to eat seasonally.  We are not 100% but as I mentioned before, 100% is not what is required.
• When clothes rip, items break, etc. we try to repair/fix before replacing. And, if it needs replacing we try to figure out if we can get along without it (think freezer). 
• If we need things we try to think if we have anything that we can use to get the job done so that we don't have to purchase something new.
• I have joined The Compact for 2015 and promised that except for consumables and certain unavoidable items (think undergarments) I will purchase everything I need from the used market or make it myself using items from the used market.
• We walk most of the places we need to go over here.
• We save glass jars to use as food storage containers.
• I was out our food storage bags and use them over and over until they get a hole.  We also save and reuse aluminum foil and the waxed paper bags that cereal and crackers may be packed in.

Where are we some of the places we are still contributing to Mother Earth's Illness?

• We use taxies or rental cars to see sights or get to and from train stations over here.
• We use our car in the states to get around to see friends and family.
• We heat the boat with wood and fuel it with diesel.
• We cook with propane.
• We use TP.  Enough said. 
• We still use some paper towels although we have cut way back.
• Not all of our food is local and/or seasonal.
• Some of the items we use are plastic.
• We fly airplanes.  But, no matter what this is not gonna change since I need to see friends and family and I love to travel.  Part of our not 100%.

I am sure I have missed things.  But you get the idea.  This post is not to brag or beat myself or someone else up.  It is to get us all thinking about how to be part of the solution instead of part of the problem.

Let's put our thinking caps on!